DETROIT -(Dow Jones)- American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AXL) (AXL) confirmed Wednesday that it is considering a plan to trim its salaried workforce amid scheduled plant closing and a drop in product demand.

The number of cuts or when they will occur hasn't yet been decided, said American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers. She declined to provide any additional comment.

Talk of white-collar cuts comes about a month after American Axle reached a new labor agreement with the United Auto Workers, after a strike that lasted nearly three months. The agreement allows the company to close two plants in New York and one in Detroit.

American Axle is also dealing with a steep decline in product demand as General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) (GM), its main customer, cuts production of pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

Sales of large vehicles that have long sustained Detroit auto makers and their suppliers have plunged in recent months as gasoline prices have surged to more than $4 a gallon.

That's especially problematic for American Axle, which makes axles, drive shafts and stabilizer bars, predominantly for the pickups and large SUVs that have fallen out of favor with consumers.

American Axle shares, which hit their lowest level in nearly seven years this week, were up 9.6% at $10.59 in recent trading. The stock is down 43% so far this year.

-By Jeff Bennett, Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5542; jeff.bennett@dowjones.com

    (END) Dow Jones Newswires   06-25-08 1237   Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.